A lake on Mars

So, there aren't a lot of people who feel enthusiastic about Musk's plan.

Maybe in 30 years, we'll have the technology to make some kind of biodome on Mars.

The samples will be brought back to Earth in the future.

There are some people who think we should colonize Mars. The most prominent person who thinks that we should is Elon Musk; he's said that he wants to have a sustainable colony there by the year 2050. Mars isn't friendly to life; there's no atmosphere, and the temperature's too cold. It wouldn't be a nice experience living there – at least with the technology that we have now. So, there aren't a lot of people who feel enthusiastic about Musk's plan.

But scientists believe they've found evidence that Mars may have supported life billions of years ago. Recently, one of the Mars Rovers conducted an experiment in the Jezero crater – a large crater in Mars's northern hemisphere. It fired radar into the ground of the crater, and used it to make a map of the different layers of the ground there. And when scientists analyzed this map, they found different layers of sediment – that is, old bits of sand and rock that breaks down. The sediment was in patterns similar to how sediment layers happen with lakes on Earth.

Scientists believe that these findings confirm that there used to be a big lake in this area. Which is significant, because water is a key ingredient to life; if there was water on Mars, it's possible that life existed there once too.

There are plans for the Mars Rover that did the experiment to take samples from the ground, and they'll be brought back to Earth in the future, for scientists to study, and look for evidence of life.

But anyway, even if Mars used to support life, it doesn't now. I'd be curious to see how a colony there might look; maybe in 30 years, we'll have the technology to make some kind of biodome that lets humans live in a way that's similar to life here on Earth. Does that appeal to you? 


Listening Homework |
by Homework Cat

Listening Homework
by Homework Cat

Warmup

What is significant about this experiment's findings?